DTRThe Guardian newspaper also report that they have learned that the PFI project that was proposed to finance a military training academy in Wales is likely to be scrapped:

The Guardian has also learned that a £14bn PFI project – one of the largest ever – to finance a military training academy in Wales is likely to be scrapped as part of the strategic defence review, to be published later this month. The new centre at a 1,000-acre site near Barry is intended to consolidate the three armed services’ existing training facilities around the country, able to cater for up to 3,000 students at any one time. The 30-year contract, awarded to defence firm Qinetiq and US firm Raytheon, covers staff, catering and maintenance.

But the cost has already increased from the original estimate of £12bn to a figure closer to £14bn, while the government has made clear its dislike of PFI-style contracts.

One senior defence source described its future as “pretty bleak” and its fate could also be sealed at the national security council meeting. Officials say the work by the consortium – already costing the MoD more than £80m – has not provided what is required. A spokesman for the consortium argued that it would be “illogical” to scrap the new centre because it would free up 1,200 sailors, soldiers and airmen involved in the military’s existing training programme.

6 Comments CherryPie on Oct 6th 2010

6 Responses to “Military Academy on Shaky Ground”

  1. anonomous says:

    Let’s hope it all gets cancelled.
    And a UK withdrawal from so many nasty alliances.

  2. altean says:

    Anon,

    I think you could only partially be correct.

    Given the US Israeli digital take-down of the Iranian Nuclear refining process, (via memory sticks and spies since it was not on-line), you have to wonder if digital security, increasingly compromised by state sanction, isn’t the greatest threat to personal freedom.

    In the first instance it is digital, Schools of the Englanders/Americas are a physical follow-up on an individual basis, after the digital incursion and tracking.

    How do you neuter that?

  3. CherryPie says:

    Now you are trying to keep me on my toes…

  4. CherryPie says:

    So where do we go from here?

  5. altean says:

    Just thinking…….

  6. CherryPie says:

    Even if it gets cancelled some of the things that were proposed, such as training armies from other parts of the world will continue. That sort of thing has always gone on to suit the current political activities of the time.

    Speaking of digital incursion and tracking gets me back a point I was talking about the other day.

    I am sure you are aware that everything done on the internet is traceable. But some things are rather more available than you might think.

    For example if someone has a wordpress blog and have set it to option alert me when a reader has made a comment it obviously sends an email. But in addition to the information the user has provided name, email and blog link it also adds the IP address next to the name. I think it may also get logged in the back end of the blog but I am not 100% sure about that.

    If some one has a self hosted blog they may also have the option to get at the stats log and analyse the data from there.

    Which leads me onto statcounter which can provide a whole host of information about the people browsing a site. I keep mine private for safety reasons but some bloggers like to show theirs off. I don’t think there is quite so much info if they are public but still… I glance at mine to see which articles are the most interesting. I did an article on an alternative use for stats a couple of years ago you can see it here.

    One last thing for now. The option to subscribe by email to comments on a blog allows readers to follow the conversation from their inbox without them revisiting the blog and it is also possible to follow comments in RSS feed.

    Those are just some of my thoughts.